“Things went ok,” Quinn told her. “They got a little crazy when the Devils showed up and told Sam the house belonged to them but Adriana told them different. Then they showed up again and their President had to clue Radar’s brother in. Hopefully, it will be better now.” Quinn paused for a moment. “Why didn’t you come with us this morning?”
Melora smiled. “Because this needed to be a family only trip. I’m not family.”
Quinn searched her face. “You’re going to be Sam’s wife. That makes you family.”
“But I’m not his wife yet.” Melora shook her head. “This needed to be just Sam and his kids.”
“Do you want to know something?’ Quinn asked her.
“What?”
“I almost hated Sam. Most all my life I watched my mother struggle to pay the bills and put food on the table for me and Charlie. I watched her struggle every day to just simply get through the day. I’d see Sam watching us but never coming around and I resented him because I knew in my heart that Mom loved him. She would have welcomed him back in our lives if he would have loved her even just a little bit.”
“I think he did love her, in his own way,” Melora told her as she stared at the man himself.
“Maybe.” Quinn shrugged. “But he was never meant to be for my mother. He was waiting for you all this time. Me, Deke and Adriana, we share his blood and his heart but he loves you. Does that make any sense to you?”
Melora nodded. “I know exactly how your mother felt. I know he’s older than I am but I love him with all my heart.”
Quinn didn’t say a word. She finally understood her mother’s love for the man she shared her child with. She hoped one day to find her own man to love and although she had her eye on one, she didn’t know if he returned her feelings. Only time would tell.
CHAPTER TEN
The next morning, Izzy found Melora sitting outside on the patio. Flopping down beside her friend she said, “Talon and I are taking a trip.”
“Oh, yeah?” Melora smiled. “Where are you going?”
“I think you know where we’re going.” Izzy rolled her eyes at her. “And you know why.”
“Yeah, I do.” Melora shrugged. “He asked for my opinion and I gave it to him.”
“Do you really think we should go, now I mean? He won’t be eighteen for two more months.”
Melora leaned over to her friend. “I think you need to be with your brother. You guys have been separated long enough. Your uncle had no right to kick you out of Boone’s life the way he did. What happened was your father’s fault, not yours.”
“And you’re okay with us bringing him here?”
“Yes, I am.” Melora grinned. “Although knowing my dad’s plans, the three of you won’t be here long.”
“Yeah, he told me what he wants to do but we need to get the place ready for the three of us before we move in.”
“I truly wish the best for you Izzy. You helped me get my dreams, now it’s your time.”
“Uncle Mike doesn’t believe in dreams.”
“Your uncle Mike is a douchebag.”
Izzy giggled. “Yeah, he is. But he’s taken care of Boone all this time, so he does have some good qualities.”
“Sweetie, I have to tell you something and I’m not sure how you’re going to take it, so please just listen before you say anything.”
“You’re scaring me,” Izzy whispered.
“I don’t mean to scare you but there is something going on.”
“What? What is going on?” Izzy demanded to know.
“Do you remember the day I first met your brother?”
“Yeah, he was outside and you told me to wait while you talked to him.” Izzy remembered. “Why?”
“Boone told me something I wasn’t supposed to ever tell you.”
“Is my brother in danger?” Izzy whispered. “Is that why we need to go get him now, instead of two months from now?
“Yeah, sweetie.” Melora nodded. “Your dad is due to get out of prison before Boone turned eighteen. Boone told me he blamed his kids for having to go to prison and that he was pissed about that. He overheard a phone call between your dad and your uncle. Boone had no illusions about his dad at all. His uncle Mike was doing what he did, so your dad could get his revenge. Your dad asked him to do this when he was in the hospital waiting to go on trial. When he was convicted, your uncle put his plan into effect. He made sure you weren’t there to protect Boone all these years.”
“That rat bastard!” Izzy swore. “If Uncle Mike hurts one hair on Boone’s head, I will kill him.”
“He’s okay for now,” Melora assured her.
Izzy studied her for a moment. “How do you know?”
“Do you remember a guy named Timber?”
“Yeah, I remember Timber.”
“Well, Timber has been keeping an eye on Boone for me,” Melora informed her. “Every Monday, Timber posts an online ad that tells me how he’s doing. I’ve been monitoring him for years. That’s how I know your dad is due to get out soon. I knew this day would come and I planned for it too.”
Izzy felt tears roll down her cheeks. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
Melora pulled her friend into a hug. “Honey, we were barely making it ourselves. On the move all the time, then running away and you were a prisoner for two years. We couldn’t bring Boone into that. But now it’s different, now we have a good home and strong relationships. We can give him a home, now we came make a difference in his life.”
Izzy hung her head and let the tears fall. When she looked up again, she whispered, “I love you girlfriend.”
Melora pulled her into a hug. “I love you too. Now go get your brother and bring him home.”
~* * * *~
Reva sat in the corner of the kitchen on the floor alone. Tears rolled down her checks but no one could hear her cry. The last few days had been so busy. No one had had time to even think. First, the problem with Bulldog came up and that was barely settled when Sam had taken his new daughter back home and then half the club had been called out to put some threat down. Now, Mountain and Izzy were leaving for Chicago to bring back her brother. Everything was going at such a fast blur, it was hard to keep it all straight.
Cassie joined her and despite her big belly, she sat down on the floor beside Reva. “How is it going?”
Reva turned stunned eyes to her friend. “I’m not sure. So much has happened with barely a breath between events. I’m not sure what’s gonna happen next.”
Cassie smiled. “What’s going to happen next is you and Gator getting married.”
“I’m still digesting that,’ Reva admitted. “It’s been in the back of my mind for years now. I’ve wanted this ever since I could remember but there was always the fact that I was married to another man to stand in the way.”
“Well, you aren’t married anymore, are you?” Cassie asked. “There’s nothing to stand in your way now.”
“Did you know Marnie asked Gator if we wanted to adopt the kids the other day?” Reva asked. “Can you imagine me and Gator as parents to three little kids?”
“Yeah, I can easily imagine it.” Cassie grinned. “And what did you and Gator say about that?”
Reva smiled through her tears. “We said we would love to, actually. Just as soon as we can get married.”
“And?” Cassie asked.
“Me and Gator are getting married and then we’re adopting three kids,” Reva whispered. “I never thought I’d hear those words come out of my mouth. I still can’t believe it.” She stared at Cassie. “I’m going marry Gator, a man I have loved for seventeen years and we’re going to have a family. Me with kids!” Tears rolled down her face.
“It’s wonderful,” Cassie whispered.
“Do you know what Jack said when we told them this morning?” Referring to one of the kids she took care of and would now adopt.
“Do I want to know?” Cassie chuckled.
“He said me and Gator were too old to ge
t married.”
“That little shit!” Cassie slapped her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, that slipped out before I thought.”
Reva chuckled. “That’s okay, Gator corrected him by telling the boy he would never be too old to love me. Alaina and Benny thought it was wonderful and when we asked them if they wanted to stay and be part of our family then all three said yes. We could barely get them all out the door and onto the school bus.”
“Does Gator realize everyone will know his real name now?”
Reva’s hand flew to her mouth as she thought about that. Then she giggled. “Well, no one has called him Aaron in years.”
“No one knew his real name,” Cassie reminded her. “He’s been known as Gator since he was sixteen years old.”
“He was so proud when you gave little Sammy his name.”
“He’s been a friend and a father figure to Deke when Sam couldn’t be. It was something both of us agreed to.”
You know something,” Reva commented. “Parts of my life have been pure hell but the rest of it has been pure pleasure. And all the pleasure has come from one man.”
“I can say the very same thing,” Cassie reminded her. “Do you have any regrets about that?”
“Nope, no regrets…none at all.”
“Yeah, me neither. Funny, how that works.” She watched Reva get to her feet then sighed. Cassie reached up her hand. “It isn’t hard to get down here but it’s getting harder to get up.” Patting her growing belly, she grinned. “So help a lady up, will ya?”
Reva chuckled and reached down to help her up.
~* * * *~
Two days later, Mountain drove his truck into the heart of Chicago.
Izzy, sitting beside him was getting nervous. She hadn’t been in this city for the last six years. So much had changed, yet so much still remained the same. It didn’t make any sense unless you lived here, but that’s just how it was.
Some might view Chicago as a dirty city but Izzy didn’t. Chicago was an older city. One that had been around a very long time. A spot with history as old as the nation itself. Chicago was a busy little town, when one part shut down for the day, another part was just waking up. It had its good points and bad points but anyone who lived here could feel the undercurrent running through the city.
As they made their way through the streets, Izzy pointed out landmarks important to her and Melora, all those years ago. She showed him the pizza place near the interstate that always gave them the left over slices at the end of the day. Melora had made friends with the manager there. Then she showed him the abandoned building they stayed for three months shortly after she and Melora met for the first time. That was their first home together. She shared with him some of their history and gave Mountain some understanding of how the two most important women in his life had survived living on the streets.
Izzy gave him directions and soon, they could smell the lake. Her uncle Mike had a house not far from the water.
~* * * *~
When they drove past the house the first time, Mountain took note of the structure of the building. It was a two level home, set back off the street. There was an attached three-car garage and before they turned the corner, they could see a patio in the backyard.
Mountain circled the block and was about to drive down the alley when he heard Izzy gasp. Checking her, he found her staring at someone standing not far from her uncle’s backyard. He checked out who was there and found a man there. He was tall and dressed in not such good clothes. His jacket was torn and his pants had seen better days. The shoes on his feet were sloppy and dirty and he wore a floppy hat.
Mountain glanced over at Izzy again, and saw her staring at the other man. “Do you know him? Is he someone I should chase away?”
Izzy turned and shook her head. “Yes, I know him and no…please don’t chase him off. He’s watching over Boone. Please stop the truck.”
When he pulled to a stop, she opened the door and rushed over to the man standing in the alley, half hidden in the shadows of the back of the garage.
The man turned and after studying her for a moment, he smiled. The dark skin on his face seemed to light up when he recognized her. “Miss Izzy,” he called out softly as he gathered her to him. “It’s wonderful to see you again.”
“Oh Timber, I have missed you most of all,” she whispered.
When Mountain came over to where they were standing, Izzy turned to introduce the two men. “Timber this is Mountain. Mountain this is Timber. Melora and I have known him for years. In fact, he was our teacher at one point. He taught us to survive on the streets.”
Mountain held out his hand to the older man. “Thank you for that, Mr. Timber. Melora is my daughter and this lovely young woman has become very important to me.”
Timber smiled. “My legal name is Henry Charles Lee. Everyone calls me Timber because a long time ago before these streets became my home, I thought I could live high off the ground in a tree. I was in the service at the time and being young, I was also very cocky. I didn’t know the tree was rotted inside and as soon I got high in the branches the whole damn tree crumbled and crashed to the ground.”
Mountain grimaced. “Ouch.”
Timber grinned. “Oh don’t fret, nothing hurts more than a man’s pride when he’s proven wrong.” Then he shrugged. “I learned to listen to those smarter than me and gladly passed those lessons along to whoever needed them.”
“What are you doing here?’ she asked the older man.
“Just watching over young Boone,” the older man told her. He turned his head and nodded toward the back yard.
Izzy turned and gasped as she saw her brother for the first time in almost eight years. The young boy she remembered was gone now and a young man had taken his place. He was sitting on the patio in his wheelchair reading a book. His clothes were ill fitted and two sizes too big for his slight frame but they covered his body.
His hair was still an off shade of the same copper color as Izzy and as she studied his face, she could see he was unhappy. She turned to look at Timber. “How long has he been like this?”
Timber knew what she was asking. “He was much better until about two years ago. Your uncle likes to argue and picks a fight anytime he can. He used to get quite angry with the boy. Two years ago, the boy hadn’t grown to his present height yet. He’s always been on the small size and back then he was a little on the short side.”
“What happened two years ago?” Mountain asked.
“Boone rolled outside and the uncle followed him. He was yelling about something or other and he was dead drunk. Yelled about the boy not being appreciative enough for everything he’d done for him.” Timber nodded toward the young man. “Young Boone tried not to get into it with him but the Uncle wouldn’t let it go. He kept pushing and pushing and finally, the kid pushed back. That’s when the uncle hit the boy. He hit him so hard the kid fell out of his chair. The poor kid couldn’t move. Your uncle kicked at him a couple of times, then gave up and went back into the house. He left the kid laying there on the ground for a couple of hours. Finally, your aunt came out and helped him get back in his chair then she took him in the house.” Timber searched Izzy’s face for a moment then he said, “Me or one of the other guys have been watching over him every day since then. Your uncle hasn’t been that way with him since then but something is going on and your uncle is getting nervous, he’s always watching the boy.”
“Is he drinking bad?” Izzy asked.
“Yeah, he is,” Timber admitted. “Two years ago, Boone used to go to school for a while every day but after he took that fall, your uncle has kept him at home. A couple of days after he fell, they called an ambulance and they took the boy to hospital. Found out through the grapevine he had pneumonia from laying on the cold ground for so many hours. The kid got better and he hasn’t left the house since then.”
~* * * *~
Izzy stared at her brother for a long time. Her heart hurt at the sight of him. She had f
ailed her vow to protect him.
Mountain came over to where she stood and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Holding her close to his body, he could feel her trembling. “It’s gonna be ok. I promise.”
“I failed him,” she whispered. “I didn’t keep my promise to him. I didn’t protect him like I should have.”
“Honey, you did what you could.” Mountain tried to reason with her. “You were still a kid yourself when this went down. Your uncle didn’t give you a choice, neither of you had a choice. But you have one now.”
Izzy turned to him. “What do you mean?”
“You and your brother were kids when this happened and both of you had to do what someone else told you. Now you’re grown, and what happens next depends on you, no one else, just the two of you can decide your future. What do you want to do?”
Izzy turned back to her brother. “I want to get him the hell away from here. I want to take him home and give him a chance at a good life.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Mountain vowed. “And we can do it today.” He turned back to Timber. “Is there anyone else in the house?”
“No the boy is alone right now. The uncle is at work and the aunt is gone at the moment.”
Mountain went over to the gate. He turned and stared at Izzy, “Are you ready to do this?”
Izzy smiled and went to the gate. “Let’s go get him.” Going through the gate, she walked up to her brother.
Boone didn’t see her come to him. His eyes were reading the book in his lap.
“Boone,” she called out softly.
The boy sitting in the chair stiffened and raised his head. Slowly turning around, he saw her standing there. For a moment, he didn’t say a word. He looked as if he didn’t know if the vision beside him was real or not. “Izzy?” he whispered. “Are you real?”
Izzy smiled and knelt beside him. “As real as real can be. I’ve come to take you home that is if you want to go with me?”
Boone reached out and grabbed her close to him. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this. Of course, I want to go home with you.”
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